Transfer a call back to the operator on no answer

[Frankaviglia]

Dear all,

is there a function within Call Manager ver 8.6 that allowes a blindly transferred call to go back to the operator (or whoever transferred the call in the first place), in case the called extension doesnt answer?

I would like to avoid using Call Forward on no answer, for two reasons:

--> I would have to manually add the function phone by phone

--> phone calls would be redirected to the operator even if another extension is calling the party directly.

Many thanks and regards,

Francesco

[Chris Deren]

Francesco,

Unfortunately there is not. The only thing I can think of is using call park, I know of some AC solutions i.e. VistaPoint that can do that as well.

HTH,

Chris

[Frankaviglia]

Hi Chris,

thank you for your reply. Let me clarify what's needed:

--> Operator transfers a call to extension XXX

---> Extensions XXX doesnt answer the call

----> After a while, the call goes back to Operator

It looks like a basic/common feature. Does CM not include it by default?

Thanks,

Francesco

[Chris Deren]

Correct, there is no native to bring the call back without user interaction without call forwarding or without using 3rd party console as suggested in first post, sorry.

HTH, please rate all useful posts!

Chris

[Frankaviglia]

Hi Chris and thanks again,

yes it looks like Call Manager doesnt provide this feature itself, however, I wonder how it is possibile for the Consolle to do it since once the call is transferred to the extension, the consolle software will actually loose control over the call and thus wont be able to either know whether it's been answered or even take it back to represent it to the operator.

Thanks,

Francesco

[Chris Deren]

I've seen Vistapoint doing it, they simply control the call thus allowing for pulling back.

HTH,

Chirs

[Rob Huffman]

Hi Francesco,

Chris is most correct here (+5 buddy )

This feature is only available in CME and the CUCM Attendant Consoles,

or by using a Consult Transfer rather than doing "Blind" Transfers

The portfolio of consoles  includes:

• Cisco Unified Attendant  Console Department Edition:   For team-based answering  functions within enterprises. One department   enables up to two operator clients  and up to 150 Cisco Unified IP  Phone  users, and one attendant console system  can contain up to five   departments
• Cisco Unified Attendant  Console Business Edition:   For mid-sized businesses  with support for up to 12 operator clients   and up to 500 Cisco Unified IP Phone  users per attendant console system
• Cisco Unified Attendant  Console Enterprise Edition:   For large enterprises with  support for up to 40 operator clients and   the entire Cisco Unified  Communications Manager end user directory per   attendant console system
• Cisco Unified Attendant Console Premium Edition:   Also for large enterprises, this edition provides support for up to 50   operator clients and 100,000 Cisco Unified IP Phone users per console   system. The Premium Edition includes server resiliency andsupports   Microsoft Active directory as an alternate directory source.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps7282/index.html

The feature is called..... Transfer Reversion (Call Recall)

This   allows a transferred call to revert back to the department   administrator so that it can be answered and then transferred to a new   destination.

CME

Call-Transfer Recall

The   Call-Transfer Recall feature in Cisco Unified CME 4.3 and later   versions returns a transferred call to the phone that initiated the   transfer if the destination is busy or does not answer. After a phone   user completes a transfer to a directory number on a local phone, if  the  transfer-to party does not answer before the configured recall  timer  expires, the call is directed back to the transferor phone. The  message  "Transfer Recall From xxxx" displays on the transferor phone.

The   transfer-to directory number cannot have Call Forward Busy enabled and   cannot be a member of any hunt group. If the transfer-to directory   number has Call Forward No Answer (CFNA) enabled, Cisco Unified CME   recalls the call only if the transfer-recall timeout is set to less  than  the CFNA timeout. If the transfer-recall timeout is set to more  than  the CFNA timeout, the call is forwarded to the CFNA target number  after  the transfer-to party does not answer.

If   the transferor phone is busy, Cisco Unified CME attempts the recall   again after a 15-second retry-timer expires. Cisco Unified CME attempts  a  recall up to three times. If the transferor phone remains busy, the   call is disconnected after the third recall attempt.

The   transferor phone and transfer-to phone must be registered to the same   Cisco Unified CME, however the transferee phone can be remote.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/cucme/admin/configuration/guide/cmetrans.html#wp1138269

Cheers!

Rob

"Clocks go slow in a place of work
Minutes drag and the hours jerk" 

-The Clash

[Frankaviglia]

OK then,

i guess it says it all. Thank you guys for all your comprehensive explanation.

Francesco

[Frankaviglia]

I am adding this follow up to complete the post, as it helped claryfing my ideas while actually implementing the solution.

Basically, what we are asking to the attendat software is to keep the call for itself while trying to call the other party. The call to be transferred is put inside a special queue, still within the Attendant Console and it's not passed back to the Call Manager until the other party has answered, allowing the Attendant Console to monitor the whole situation and pass the originating call back to the operator in case there is no anser on the other side.

Also, this feature can be made available to other Call Manager users (not just operators) by letting them transfer the call to a special queue (i.e. *extension number), still within the Attendant Console and not via the Call Manager. The Attenand Console wil then use the originating number to put the call back to the initial user, in case the other party is unavailable.

Hope this helps other users,

Frank